Shen sighed slightly as his head turned to the left, and finally the right. This night was just getting started and already it felt long; he was in a new place once again, as so often before growing tired of always traveling place to place. This night his hair flowed loosely down his back, its chestnut coloring a contrast to the simple white t-shirt he wore. A pair of black athletic pants, and matching shoes, finished out his rather simple attire.

It was with a slight shrug he made his way into the Warehouse, while he was not big on visiting clubs it was a place to simply disappear into the masses. But, it would prove more difficult than he thought as the sound of music restarted after its brief recess and attacked his ears with a relentless assassult from a snare drum mixed with the strumming of guitars.

His trek further into the club was one done with slow steps and his eyes wandered all about, taking in everything. Even with all he had seen, there was always something new to see and experience. Shen's wandering eyes and mind led him headlong into another patron of the club, his initial reaction to doing so was taking a step back and staring at the person, muttering, "oh..."

((Ok. I can't stop myself any longer. I'll be joining your thread here as soon as I get the post finished typed up. Hope you don't mind :)))

This wasn’t usually the type of place that she came to, but tonight she was bored and needed to get out. Things weren’t still entirely right in her mind. They were getting better though. Slowly. Painfully slowly at times. She didn’t have much of a choice but to ‘live’ with it. That is, if you could really call her existence living.

Tonight she is wearing a long blood red dress that flows smoothly around her feet. The bodice part of her dress is very tight and helps in making her very full bosom look even fuller. Matching red shoes were on her dainty feet. The woman is small. Very small. But she’s all woman mind you. Don’t let her size throw you off. She’s got secrets. Yes. Secrets.

Someone bumped into her. Slowly she turned around as the other took a step back. “You should be more careful of where you’re going,” she says in her angelic voice. It really has been a while since Enyo was in such a place as this. She smiles at the man.

He took a step backward, again, and found himself blinking a couple of times as he took the woman in. "I should," he began, "but I lose track of where I am when taking in new places. An old habit, I suppose." He then began to wonder why he was talking to openly about a century old bad habit and scruntched his brow, though quickly shaking away the thoughts as it was not too unlike him to open up somewhat in a new place. Especially in a city of this size where he stayed lost more times than not.

"I... I am Shen," he said simply, his mind running out of railroad track and into a brick wall. He shifted his weight and for whatever reason, beyond what he would care to explain, gave a half-bow. It then, struck his mind as to maybe he should act dark and mysterious like a few of the others he had met in the past, nah, that wasn't him. Shen did, however, flash a white smile as his eyes remained placed upon her face, "I owe you an apology as well, don't I?"

She shifted her stance so that she could put one hand lazily on her hip. Her gaze traveling over the man entirely and quite openly. “I’m Enyo,” she replies and then shakes her head. “No need for that. It’s a crowded place. One is bound to bump into someone at some point in the night. You, sir, just happened to bump into me.”

Going back to him mentioning new places... “You’re new around here eh?”

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair, "quite. Only a few days here." He felt nervous and even though it did not really show, too much, Shen wondered why that was. Maybe because for once a conversation was starting in a manner that did not include him scaring some poor soul clean from their mortal coil? He did that on purpose, and once again he found his mind wandering from the subject at hand.

"I stay lost most often, though, found here... but, I'm still not sure where here is," he looked around and knew 'what' building he was in, but so far as where he was in this city he was clueless. Like the only other couple places of any size the vampire tended to stay lost, having had more than one close call near the end of a long night.

“I see,” she finally replied. She tilted her head to the side a little as she picked up on some of his nervousness. Smelled it actually. She didn’t let onto it though. Not right now. Not yet. She could sense something different about this guy. Something different indeed.

“Lost? How so?” she asked. “I’m assuming you’re not meaning the name of this club you’ve found yourself in. Otherwise, I’m not sure I understand what, exactly, you mean by lost.”

nevermind))

"I tend to get lost easily in new places, especially large cities," he waved a hand back toward the enterance to symbolize what he meant. Shen was good at playing things up, but he really wasn't this situation, he was completely lost. His eyes swept around the room before returning to her, "so, would you like to find a seat?" Shen fought down his persistant nerves that kept floating up toward the surface.

He took in a deep breath and pushed a few strands of hair back behind one ear, quietly wondering what had possessed him this night as he was having a very hard time focusing on anything at hand. An unusual trait for him, maybe it was simply something about her? Nay, it was probably all in his head, yes... just like most of the other things he had convinced himself of throughout the last few dozen years.

She nods as he speaks. “Gotcha. I understand now.” She continued to watch him and study him as he gazed around the room. “Sure,” she replied. The scent of his nervousness kept waving towards her even over the many other scents in the room. “Preferably not so terribly close to the loud music.” Yes. The loud music drove her to having a headache after too long. She waited for him to take the lead.

"Agreed," he had said it in referance to not being too close to the music, though he never did speak as much aloud. Shen led the way to a table, this time paying attention more to where he was going than the building around him, hard as that could be. He was still a dreamer, that was something he had renewed from a young age and had kept hold of quite tightly.

"Do you come to this place often?" He was trying gauge a better opinion on the woman as he pulled out a seat and awaited her before he would move to his own to sit down. Old habits die hard, it was another, though one liked by some.

“No. Not usually. I tend to avoid places like this for the most part,” she answered as she sat down in the chair being offered to her. She thought nothing of it really. She took it as a respectful gesture and appreciated it.

“What about you? Do you visit places like this very often?” she asked with a smile. “I, myself, prefer much quieter places than this. Not sure yet why I came here tonight.”

"Only when-" He almost said only when in search of a meal, but stopped himself and changed gears, "-I am bored. Or like tonight and it was the first place with warm bodies around that I came across." It was a sad replacement, but one that was still a true statement. He was now settled down and stretching out slowly before he sat back up straight. Shen purposely took his gaze off of her and placed it onto the people wandering past, many of them very scantly clad, others may as well have been wearing nothing.

Warm bodies. Hm.. Very peculiar. Since when did someone go looking for warm bodies? Unless... A knowing sort of smile crept onto her face as she nodded in response. “I see,” she finally answered. “Do you look for warm bodies often?” Her angelic sounding voice hung in the air around the table that they were sitting at.

Shen smiled, he actually seemed a little sheepish in the action as he lowered his gaze to the table, "not too often. Ah, but I would have no reason to seek out a cold body, either... necrophiliac is not upon my resumé." He was trying to cover his tracks, it seemed to him then there was more behind her than simply a beautiful voice. In ways that only made him more uncomfortable, but at the sametime had an almost welcoming vibe within his mind.

"I don't think I caught your name," he switched gears, trying to stear the conversation away from his previous statements. Maybe it would work, perhaps not, he had never been the smooth talker. One reason he was an officer and not a diplomat, or adivsor, when he still had a reason to breath.

“I see,” came the angelic voice once more. She catches on that he’s trying to change the direction the conversation seemed to have gone and goes along with it. For now anyway. “Enyo. The names Enyo,” she finally responds.


((So very crappy. Sorry :aww: ))

"Enyo," he repeated the name slowly, almost like committing it to memory. He laid his head off to the side, "I should count myself amongst the fortunate this night, I think. Of all who have passed through these door tonight I happen to bump you, a lady of fine company." Shen showed a warm smile, but it was entirely friendly, and he truly was grateful for the good company.

He spent his time trying to not watch her too closely, but it was definately a failing effort. So, eventually he just gave up and kept his wandering attention focused upon her face area when he did look at Enyo, though it did at times take a conscious effort to keep his eyes upon shoulder level.

(( No problem, at all. :) ))

“Mmm,” she murred. “No sir. I think it is I who should consider myself the fortunate one.” She had caught his eyes wandering below her neck level a few times and just smiled. Enyo, honestly, was not very good at idle chit chat. It had been far too long since she’d tried to carry on a conversation with a stranger like this.

“What do you like to do for fun?” she finally asked after what felt like forever. Forever. What a funny way to think about it considering that both are vampires and neither knows it yet. Well, Enyo has an idea. She’s quite the observant one really.

Shen turned his chestnut colored eyes toward the floor where others were 'dancing' to the beat produced from the large speakers, "a favorite of mine since my boyhood was dancing." He looked back to her, "though, this is a bit barbaric for my tastes." He must sound like an old man, or at least he thought he did upon repeating the words in his head. "I used to paint, years ago." With a shake of his head he shrugged somewhat, "never was any good, however."

He went silent for a moment, though it definately looked like he was going to say something. Internally he was talking to himself about whether or not to expand further into what he enjoyed to do, and finallly he came to an answer and changed the words that say upon his tongue, "and you? What is it that you deprive your pleasures from?"

Her head nods slightly. It was enough to cause a few strands of her very long hair to fall forward. She’d not pulled it back tonight. Nope. She left it flowing entirely behind her. The entire waist length of it. She liked it better that way in all honesty. She felt it made her more attractive that way rather than pulling it back in a pony tail like some teenage girl. Ha. That was a funny thought in itself. She was far from being a teenage girl. Although her looks portrayed her as being much younger than she really was.

“Dancing is fun,” she replies finally. “But not this strange thing they do here. I don’t even understand how they can call what they are doing dancing. It looks more like something that should be done behind closed doors.” Yes. Enyo is blunt like that. Not all the time though. Just seemed to be the right comment for what these ‘kids’ were doing on the dance floor.

What did she like to do. Hm... “Going for walks in the park under the moon,” she answered. She used to enjoy watching the sun rise when she was younger... before she was turned.

Her words brought out a soft laughter, it was indeed true to his eyes and ears. But, he did not comment further on the subject; instead he turned his attention toward the last words she had spoke. "It has been a long while since I last walked beneath the moon and stars and was not wandering alone," more words struck him then and he shifted how he sat, "sunrises are a beautiful thing to behold as well."

Shen's gaze then went to her, "though, I would believe it had met its better if compared with you." Within his mind he was not flirting, not really, more of paying a worthy woman a worthy compliment. He did smile again, though as he looked past her and watched two people talking. This only lasted a heartbeat, then his eyes were back in place, trying to read her face.

“Sunrises,” she began with an almost dreamy sound in her voice. “Yes. I remember the sunrises.” She blinked and actually got a strange, almost embarrassed, look on her face as she realized she said that out loud. Damn it. She hadn’t meant to. The crazy music was starting to sound all too loud suddenly. Even though she had an almost embarrassed look on her face, her flawless skin was still quite pale.

“Why thank you kind sir,” she responded after finally regaining her composure. For the most part anyway. “It’s been a while since anyone has given me a compliment such as that.” It was true too. Since she’d been pretty much keeping herself away from the living, she’d not gotten a complement in quite a while.

"It makes one wonder," he said, watching her quite closely. The way she reacted, it was nostalgic, much as he felt manytimes when he recalled like in China, the evening of the festival. Shen noticed he had stopped speaking and quickly continued, "have you been living amongst blind men for so long? Or, perhaps those is this city don't know beauty when they see it."

Standing then he gave a half-bow to his vampiric companion, even if he was still unsure of what she was exactly, "perhaps you would accompany me on such a walk? I promise to keep my hands to myself." He said the last words mostly as a joke, giving a small grin as if to let it be better known.

She just smiled. She didn’t know what else to do at the moment. It took her a few moments to realize that he hadn’t commented on her sunrise comment. That was good. Perhaps it had slipped past him unnoticed. Well, one could hope, right? “Perhaps it is the later kind sir,” she responds. “Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

She watched him stand and tilted her head to the side a little. Her smile widens as she rises to her own dainty feet. “That would be very enjoyable,” she replies and moves to thread her dainty arm through his so that her small hand is resting on the crook of his arm. “Lead the way kind sir.”

And he did as she said, slicing a careful path through the various other patrons of the club. He had noticed a few glances from others, but paid them little mind. In fact, also, he had not forgotten about her sunrise comment and was playing with it inside of his head as they walked toward the exit, and thankfully away from the booming music. His words would not arise again until they had made a successful escape from the crowds and were standing in the near deafening night.

"When I first started traveling out this way I worked as a bouncer for a club," he knew it had not been brought up, but spoke about it anyway as at least it would keep communication flowing for now. "Was much smaller, but there was usually some fun to be found when the drunks got too rowdy..."

The fresh air flooded through her as she inhaled deeply once they were outside. It had felt so stuffy inside after a while. Especially after the comment she’d let slip out. She was still quite embarrassed with herself at having let it slip out loud. She’d not meant to say it out loud. Ah well. Too late to take it back. She could only hope that the thoughts she had developed after a while of watching him were correct. If not, well, she would have to do what she had grown to despise doing. Yes. Shen was dealing with a vampire that preferred to not feed from mortals.

“I’ve never really liked drunks. Never liked to be around them,” she replied.

"Nor do I," he took in a deep breath of his own and could not help but to feel a pang of remorse as he remembered wandering through the forests of his home, along the river bank, trying to hide from no one in particular. Those were the days he held onto tightly, the ones from before he had first spilled the blood of men in the north in the name of an Empire that did not care about him, nor his family. It was those memories that made keeping hold of his 'humanity' easier, though. He refused to grow cold and dead inside, even if he appeared that way outside before feeding.

Mentally he shook away those thoughts as they travelled along the side walk, for the first time in years he smiled purely for the fact of having company for company sake. "It was good job security, was a shame I had to leave. But its hard maintaining myself in a small town for too long." Maybe he should not have said that, but it could be taken in other ways, couldn't it? Shen had grown tired of moving and large cities, such as this one, would allow him to blend in and not worry about moving too far. Especially if he kept his contact with mortals limited, created a good reason for why he was asleep all day.

"Nor am I very good at creating friendships," he looked at her as they came to a stop at a cross-walk, "I tend to be shy and avoid people, usually." Shen turned his eyes toward the sky before he continued on, "I have a feeling it is not so much differant for you, either." Why did he feel that way? It was something he was trying to determine for himself, also. He was not a figure who usually spent much time in attempts to decifier other people, especially how they act. Normally he just got along with someone, or he didn't. Enyo, however, had his fullest attention now. She intrigiued him.

She walked along beside him with her dainty hand resting in the crook of his arm. Her other hand resting lightly atop of her other hand. Remorse... humanity... Oh yes. Enyo knew full well what those were. She would probably say so if he were to mention it out loud or something. She was quite the sentimental and emotional one. Really she was. It was why she had given up feeding on the living. For the most part anyway. There was that slip with that woman. That had nearly driven her mad.

Her head nodded slightly as he spoke of his job and such. “Yes. I could see living in a small town becoming a problem,” she admits. “I’ve not had that problem as of yet.” That’s true. She’s not yet near old enough for mortals to start questioning her still being alive and such. She sighed as he started talking about creating friendships. “You are correct,” she replied softly. She made no mention of having turned another into one of what she is in an attempt to have a friend and companion.

Shen let his eyes travel down the side of each road to make sure traffic was not coming, he did not start walking when it was clear. Nay, he looked at her and chuckled, "I do believe I've not a clue which way it is to the park." He took in a deep breath and let his eyes fall closed, the wind was starting to pick up and it felt good. "Perhaps, you could lead from here? Or, simply walk around..." and hope I don't get us too lost, but that was a silent thought to finish the sentence in his mind.

There were no cars coming. There was rarely much traffic at this time of night. Many folks were snugly tucked into their warm beds. Families resting comfortably in the safety of their own homes. She used to envy those people. Sometimes she still does. Sometimes she wishes that she would never have been turned into what she walks through the world as she is. Oh to be able to watch the beautiful sunrises once more instead of being shut away in her apartment with the heavy dark curtains shutting out the world.

She tilted her head slightly, enough to be able to look up at him. “We’re actually going in the right direction towards the park,” she replied softly. “I’ve been here less than a year and already know my way around as if I grew up here or something.”

He nodded and kept them going in the same direction after she spoke and Shen considered her words, both past and present. "A year can feel like forever, then other times a handful of them may have passed and not even notice it, hardly." He knew well what he was saying this time, purposely wording it to give hints of his origin as he suspected she was not so differant from himself. Remaining silent then, he let his eyes follow along the shoulder closest to him until it returned to her dark eyes.

"Even a month can feel like forever," she added. "Especially when you're left alone." She was thinking about the time Morose had vanished from her life entirely. Being his sire, it had hurt her deeply to be apart from him for so long. She felt his eyes on her and smiled. She glanced around the area to make sure there was no one else around. There wasn't. It was just the two walking along through the night.

She stopped suddenly and turned herself to stand in front of him. "I know what you are," she blurts out in her angelic voice.

"Do you, now?" He really was not that suprised, at the beginning he had given away several hints without realizing it, or doing so too late. Shen just watched her quietly and shifted his weight. It was now that he looked her over well, from head to toe, though his cinnamon eyes stayed focused mostly upon her eyes as he took in a deep breath.

Part of him felt tingly, like awaiting some big suprise. Another felt sort of sick inside, it was the part that hated to think of the consquences that could be instore, not only for her but the strong sense of honor he had. If she were human, his own thoughts were wrong, he would have to harm her most likely. And it would be entirely his own fault. Even though it had only been a short time he was growing attached, perhaps a mistake, but definately deep inside he hoped it was not.

Bright eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she nodded. “Yes sir. Indeed I do,” she stated in a matter of fact tone of voice. She stood there and watched him looking her over from head to toe. “You like what you see?” she blurts out in that same angelic voice. A sly look upon her face.

"Yes, I do." Since she was being blunt, he decided to return the favor in kind. "It has been a very long time since I saw a woman I could not keep my eyes off of, however... I think part of that is because you interest me." That was definately true, she did hold his interest and in manyways. The gaze locked onto her eyes broke away after a moment and he paced back a handful of steps to stand facing a wall less than a foot away, "it is because you are not so differant from me, afterall."

Turning back to face Enyo he smiled, "which pleases me." He did not say why it did, but when he cast an angled look toward the ground it probably said as much as his words could have anyway. He had became haughty, though only for those for moments. Soon, he was walking toward her again and stopped just short, "friends who walk the similar path are rare." Shen offered his hand once more, "perhaps our steps can continue down the same one for a while longer?"

“And what pleases you most kind sir?” she asked him after he’d spoken. “My looks? Or perhaps something more? And how do you know if I am not so different from you?”

She looped her arm through his again and continued to walk along with him.

"The way you spoke of sunrises," he told her without turning his head, ' 'tis one way." He watched the ground before his feet, then the distant night, thinking of telling more of himself and finally he decided it could not hurt, "you speak of it the same way I recall my home in China." Now Shen did look at her and he smiled, "the one I left behind over three hundred years ago."

He only waited a heartbeat to gauge a reaction before he moved off to her other question, they still had a while longer, "and your beauty is certainly impressive. But, it is what lies below the surface which intrigues me." Zhou still could not place a positive reason on exactly what it was, maybe it was her personality? The way she carried herself? The vampire lacked the ability to tell her what he was not even sure of himself.

“Ah yes. The sunrises,” she replied with that near dreamy sound in her angelic voice again. She’d brought her other hand up to rest it atop of her hand that was resting in the crook of his arm. “It’s been a long time since I last got the chance to watch a sunrise. A long time indeed.” She glanced up at him as he spoke. “That is a long time. It’s only been sixty years since I last got to watch a sunrise.”

She leaned her head over onto his arm as she continued to listen to him while they walked. She laughed softly at his reply. “Below the surface? And what is it, kind sir, that you think lies below the surface?”

Shen listened and nodded slowly as she spoke, he understood her well where the sunrises were concerned. The night seemed less unplesant than it did normally, especially when he was alone or only one other person nearby. Quietly he thought on the subject she had asked last, finally he spoke, though still slightly unsure. "You have your spirit, still." Maybe those weren't the best words, but the ones he found easiest to come. "I have met a handful of our kind in my years, so many have given up who they are..." He frowned rather openly, "seem to be little more than walking beast who feed on people like cattle."

He did not mention most of his own 'meals' still came from humans, but he rarely killed one. Those he did were usually the lowest forms of life he could find, though that was not always a street rat. "But, before I knew... the way you acted, and your voice, were draws to my senses." Shen blinked after a moment and began to wonder if he was just rambling himself, it wouldn't be a first time and he chuckled softly, "sorry, seems I was beginning to ramble on, for a moment."

She actually laughed softly at the cattle comment. “Yes. I do still have my spirit as you say. However, do not let that fool you. I am still just a walking beast. Except there is a difference between me and those who feed on mortals. A big difference to be exact.” What sort of difference? She didn’t say. Not just yet anyway. “No need to apologize for I do not feel you’re rambling in the least.”